Apparatus and method for routing data packet to user equipment in LTE-WLAN aggregation system

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a communication method and system for converging a 5 th -generation (5G) communication system for supporting higher data rates beyond a 4 th -generation (4G) system with a technology for internet of things (IoT). The present disclosure may be applied to intelligent services based on 5G communication technology and IoT-related technology, such as smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car, connected car, health care, digital education, smart retail, security and safety services. A system and a method for routing a data packet to a user equipment (UE) in a long term evolution-wireless local area network (LTE-WLAN) aggregation are provided. The system includes an evolved node B (eNB) with a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) adaptation layer that adds a header to the data packet.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application of prior application Ser.No. 15/328,260, filed on Jan. 23, 2017, which is a U.S. National Stageapplication under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of an International application numberPCT/KR2016/003713, filed on Apr. 8, 2016, which is based on and claimedpriority of an Indian patent application number 1891/CHE/2015, filed onApr. 10, 2015, in the Indian Patent Office, and of an Indian patentapplication number 1891/CHE/2015, filed on Apr. 7, 2016, in the IndianPatent Office, the disclosure of each of which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a wireless communication. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to a mechanism for routinga data packet to a user equipment (UE) in a long term evolution-wirelesslocal area network (LTE-WLAN) aggregation.

BACKGROUND

To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having increased sincedeployment of 4th-generation (4G) communication systems, efforts havebeen made to develop an improved 5th-generation (5G) or pre-5Gcommunication system. Therefore, the 5G or pre-5G communication systemis also called a ‘Beyond 4G Network’ or a ‘Post long term evolution(LTE) System’. The 5G communication system is considered to beimplemented in higher frequency (mmWave) bands, e.g., 60 GHz bands, soas to accomplish higher data rates. To decrease propagation loss of theradio waves and increase the transmission distance, the beamforming,massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO(FD-MIMO), array antenna, an analog beam forming, large scale antennatechniques are discussed in 5G communication systems. In addition, in 5Gcommunication systems, development for system network improvement isunder way based on advanced small cells, cloud radio access networks(RANs), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communication,wireless backhaul, moving network, cooperative communication,coordinated multi-points (CoMP), reception-end interference cancellationand the like. In the 5G system, hybrid frequency shift keying (FSK) andquadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) (FQAM) and sliding windowsuperposition coding (SWSC) as an advanced coding modulation (ACM), andfilter bank multi carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA),and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as an advanced access technologyhave been developed.

The internet, which is a human centered connectivity network wherehumans generate and consume information, is now evolving to the internetof things (IoT) where distributed entities, such as things, exchange andprocess information without human intervention. The internet ofeverything (IoE), which is a combination of the IoT technology and thebig data processing technology through connection with a cloud server,has emerged. As technology elements, such as “sensing technology”,“wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure”, “serviceinterface technology”, and “security technology” have been demanded forIoT implementation, a sensor network, a machine-to-machine (M2M)communication, machine type communication (MTC), and so forth have beenrecently researched. Such an IoT environment may provide intelligentInternet technology services that generate a new value to human life bycollecting and analyzing data generated among connected things. IoT maybe applied to a variety of fields including smart home, smart building,smart city, smart car or connected cars, smart grid, health care, smartappliances and advanced medical services through convergence andcombination between existing information technology (IT) and variousindustrial applications.

In line with this, various attempts have been made to apply 5Gcommunication systems to IoT networks. For example, technologies such asa sensor network, MTC, and M2M communication may be implemented bybeamforming, MIMO, and array antennas. Application of a cloud RAN as theabove-described big data processing technology may also be considered tobe as an example of convergence between the 5G technology and the IoTtechnology.

Meanwhile, the third generation partnership project (3GPP) is working onan upcoming architecture where a LTE and a wireless local area network(WLAN) will be aggregated such that the LTE will control a transmissionof packets over the WLAN. The WLAN access points (APs) will be hiddenfrom a core network (CN) in the LTE; the associated evolved nodeB (eNB)will control the corresponding APs. In such an architecture where theLTE and the WLAN are aggregated such that the LTE controls the WLAN, oneor more flows of one or more user equipment (UEs) associated with an LTEeNB can be either fully or partially diverted over the WLAN where thedecision of routing the packets is determined by the eNB. In such thearchitecture, the way that the WLAN identifies the packets correspondingto the UE and flow of the UE is not yet addressed. This is of paramountimportance because a receiver of the WLAN entity needs to route packetsto the appropriate data plane entities of the associated UE. In the LTE,each flow (referred to as data radio bearer (DRB)) is handled byindependent radio link control (RLC)/packet data convergence protocol(PDCP) entities, hence when the data packets are arriving at thereceiver from the WLAN, it needs to be passed on to the correct dataplane entity.

The WLAN APs will be hidden from the core network, the associated LTEeNB will control the corresponding WLAN APs. The 3GPP/WLAN radiointerworking Release-12 solution enhances CN-based WLAN offload byimproving user quality of experience (QoE) and network utilization andproviding more control to operators. These improvements can be furtherenhanced by the LTE-WLAN aggregation system, similar to enhancementsalready available from existing LTE carrier aggregation and dualconnectivity features. The LTE-WLAN aggregation system provides thefollowing advantages. The WLAN access network becomes transparent to theCN. This provides the operator unified control and management of both3GPP and WLAN networks as opposed to separately managing the 3GPP andWLAN networks. The aggregation and tight integration at radio levelallows for real-time channel and load aware radio resource managementacross the WLAN and the LTE to provide significant capacity and QoEimprovements.

The reliable LTE network can be used as a control and mobility anchor toprovide the QoE improvements, minimize service interruption, andincrease operator control. The WLAN-related CN signaling is eliminated.Thus results in reducing CN load in the LTE-WLAN aggregation system.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determinationhas been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

The benefits of long term evolution-wireless local area network(LTE-WLAN) aggregation system can be realized in both co-located andnon-collocated deployments. For the collocated case, corresponding tothe small cell deployment, the LTE evolved nodeB (eNB) and WLAN accesspoint (AP)/access controller (AC) are physically integrated andconnected via an internal interface. This scenario is similar to the LTEcarrier aggregation. For the non-collocated case, the LTE eNB and theWLAN are connected via an external interface. This scenario is similarto the LTE dual connectivity. In both collocated and non-collocatedcases, the WLAN link behaves as second cell/carrier for data while thecontrol is managed by the eNB through a radio resource control (RRC)entity.

However, existing mechanism fails to route a data packet to the userequipment (UE) in the LTE-WLAN aggregation system.

Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages descried below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide a method and system for routing a data packetto a UE in an LTE-WLAN aggregation.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method forreceiving, by a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) adaptation layerof an eNB, a data packet from a PDCP layer.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method foradding a header which includes at least one of bearer identification(ID), quality of service (QoS) and a radio network temporary identifier(RNTI) to WLAN ID mapping information to the data packet.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method forsending a data packet along with a header to a WLAN AP.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus forrouting a data packet to a UE in an LTE-WLAN aggregation is provided.The apparatus includes an eNB having a PDCP adaptation layer configuredto receive the data packet from a PDCP layer. The PDCP adaptation layeris configured to add a header to the data packet. The header includes atleast one of bearer ID, QoS and an RNTI to WLAN ID mapping informationto the data packet. The PDCP adaptation layer is configured to transmitthe data packet along with the header to the WLAN AP.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a methodfor routing, by an eNB, a data packet to a UE in an LTE-WLAN aggregationis provided. The method includes receiving, by a PDCP adaptation layerof the eNB, the data packet from a PDCP layer of the eNB, adding, by thePDCP adaptation layer, a header which includes at least one of bearerID, QoS and an RNTI to WLAN ID mapping information to the data packet,and transmitting, by the PDCP adaptation layer, the data packet with theheader to the WLAN AP.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a methodfor routing, by a WLAN AP, a data packet to a UE in an LTE-WLANaggregation is provided. The method includes identifying a media accesscontrol (MAC) address of a UE from a data packet, wherein the datapacket is received from a PDCP adaptation layer of an eNB, generating aMAC header from the MAC address, and sending the data packet along withthe MAC header to the UE.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates generally, among other things, a high level overviewof a long term evolution-wireless local area network (LTE-WLAN)aggregation system for routing a data packet to a user equipment (UE)according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a layer level implementation of the LTE-WLANaggregation system as shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3A is a flow diagram illustrating a method for routing a datapacket to a UE by an evolved nodeB (eNB) in an LTE-WLAN aggregationsystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B is a flow diagram illustrating a method for routing a datapacket to a UE by a WLAN access point (WLAN AP) in an LTE-WLANaggregation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 show sequence diagrams indicating variousoperations and procedures involved in routing a data packet to a UE inan LTE-WLAN aggregation system according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram indicating various operations andprocedures involved in establishing communication between an eNB and aWLAN AP using a UE specific tunnel identified (TEID) according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram indicating various operations andprocedures involved in establishing communication between an eNB and aWLAN AP using a UE and flow specific TEID according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram indicating various operations andprocedures involved for indicating a UE preference indication accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram indicating various operations andprocedures involved for a UE preference configuration but not indicatedto an eNB according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a schematic of packet format in which a WLAN AP distinguishesan upper layer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 16 illustrates a computing environment implementing a mechanism forrouting a data packet to a UE in a LTE-WLAN aggregation system accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functionsand constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

The embodiments herein provide a long term evolution-wireless local areanetwork (LTE-WLAN) aggregation system for routing a data packet to auser equipment (UE). The evolved node B (eNB) determines to route thedata packet through a WLAN access point (WLAN AP) before sending thedata packet to a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) adaptationlayer. The system includes an eNB having a PDCP adaptation layerconfigured to receive the data packet from a PDCP layer. The PDCPadaptation layer is configured to add a header to the data packet. ThePDCP adaptation layer is configured to send the data packet with theheader to the WLAN AP.

In an embodiment, the header includes a bearer identification (ID).

In an embodiment, the header includes quality of service (QoS)information.

In an embodiment, the header includes radio network temporary identifier(RNTI) to WLAN ID mapping information.

In an embodiment, the header includes a combination of bearer ID, QoS,and RNTI to WLAN ID mapping information.

In an embodiment, the WLAN AP is configured to identify a media accesscontrol (MAC) address of the UE from the data packet. The WLAN AP isconfigured to generate a MAC header from the MAC address, and send thedata packet along with the MAC header to the UE.

In an embodiment, the UE includes a PDCP adaptation layer configured toidentify data packet routed from the eNB based on the bearer ID.

In an embodiment, the PDCP adaptation layer is configured to generateduplicates of an internet protocol (IP) header in the IP packet receivedfrom the PDCP layer as a PDCP payload prior to addition of the header.

In an embodiment, the IP header includes a source IP address and adestination IP address. The PDCP adaptation layer is configured togenerate duplicates of the IP header in the IP packet received from thePDCP layer where the IP header includes the source IP address and thedestination IP address.

In an embodiment, the WLAN AP is configured to identify the MAC addressfrom the destination IP address.

In an embodiment, the WLAN AP is configured to map the destination IPaddress to the MAC address of the UE.

In an embodiment, the eNB is configured to share the MAC address of theUE and the destination IP address of the UE to the WLAN AP.

In an embodiment, the UE is configured to directly share IP address ofthe UE to the WLAN AP.

In an embodiment, the PDCP adaptation layer is configured to encrypt thedata packet prior to generate duplicates of the source IP address andthe destination IP address. The PDCP adaptation layer is configured tosend the encrypted data packet to the WLAN AP.

In an embodiment, the eNB is configured to establish a tunnel with theWLAN AP and the PDCP adaptation layer includes a UE ID along with thedata packet. A tunnel ID is exchanged between the eNB and the WLAN AP.

In an embodiment, the tunnel is established based on at least one of anIP address of the UE and the MAC address of the UE. The UE shares the IPaddress of the UE to the WLAN AP or the MAC address of the UE to the LTEeNB.

In an embodiment, the WLAN AP is configured to identify the MAC addressof the UE from the UE ID received in the tunnel ID.

In an embodiment, the WLAN AP is configured to check the QoS and routethe data packet to the UE based on the QoS.

In an embodiment, the eNB determines to route the data packet throughthe WLAN AP based on at least one of support of aggregation capabilityinformation, aggregation feature enable information, aggregation featuredisable information, and preference indication information received fromthe UE during registration.

In an embodiment, the eNB is configured to send an aggregation commandincluding identity of the WLAN AP to the UE.

The embodiments herein provide a method for routing a data packet to aUE in a LTE-WLAN aggregation system. The method includes receiving, by aPDCP adaptation layer of an eNB, the data packet from a PDCP layer ofthe eNB. Further, the method includes adding, by the PDCP adaptationlayer, a header which includes at least one of bearer ID, QoS and a RNTIto WLAN ID mapping information to the data packet. Further, the methodincludes sending, by the PDCP adaptation layer, the data packet with theheader to the WLAN AP.

The embodiments herein provide a method implemented in a WLAN AP. Themethod includes identifying a MAC address of a UE from a data packet.The data packet is received from a PDCP adaptation layer of an eNB.Further, the method includes generating a MAC header from the MACaddress, and sending the data packet along with the MAC header to theUE.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2, 3A,3B, and 4 to 16, where similar reference characters denote correspondingfeatures consistently throughout the figure, there are shown preferredembodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates generally, among other things, a high level overviewof an LTE-WLAN aggregation system 100 for routing a data packet to a UE106 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the system 100 includes eNB 102, a plurality ofWLAN APs 104 a and 104 b, a plurality of UEs 106 a-106 d.

In an embodiment, the WLAN AP 104 a and the WLAN AP 104 b is an operatorAP.

In an embodiment, the WLAN AP 104 a is an operator AP and the WLAN AP104 b is a private AP.

The eNB 102 may also be referred to as a base station, a basetransceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, atransceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set(ESS), or the like.

The UE 106 can be, for example but not limited to, a cellular phone, atablet, a smart phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), orthe like.

The eNB 102 is configured to add a header to the data packet. The headerincludes bearer ID, QoS and a RNTI to WLAN ID mapping information.

In an embodiment, the eNB 102 is configured to generate duplicates of anIP header prior to add the header.

In an embodiment, the IP header includes a source IP address and adestination IP address. The eNB 102 is configured to generate onlyduplicates of the source IP address and the destination IP address priorto add the header.

In an embodiment, the eNB 102 is configured to encrypt the data packetprior to generate duplicates of the source IP address and thedestination IP address. The eNB 102 is configured to send the encrypteddata packet to the WLAN AP 104.

By adding the header into the data packet, the eNB 102 is configured tosend the data packet along with the header to the WLAN AP 104.

After receiving the data packet along with the header from the eNB 102,the WLAN AP 104 is configured to identify a MAC address of the UE 106from the data packet. Further, the WLAN AP 104 is configured to generatea MAC header from the MAC address. After generating the MAC header, theWLAN AP 104 is configured to send the data packet along with the MACheader to the UE 106.

In an embodiment, the WLAN AP 104 is configured to identify the MACaddress from the destination IP address. In an embodiment, the WLAN AP104 is configured to map the destination IP address to the MAC addressof the UE 106.

In an embodiment, the eNB 102 is configured to share the MAC address ofthe UE 106 and the destination IP address of the UE 106 to the WLAN AP104. In an embodiment, the UE 106 is configured to directly share IPaddress of the UE 106 to the WLAN AP 104.

In an embodiment, in order to establish the communication between theeNB 102 and the WLAN AP 104, the eNB 102 is configured to establish atunnel with the WLAN AP 104 using a UE ID. A tunnel ID is exchangedbetween the eNB 102 and the WLAN AP 104.

After receiving the data packet along with the MAC header from the WLANAP 104, the UE 106 is configured to identify data packet routed from theeNB 102 based on the bearer ID.

In an embodiment, the eNB 102 differentiates the WLAN AP 104 a and WLANAP 104 b based on IP address which are assigned by a LTE network.

Although FIG. 1 shows units of the system 100 but it is to be understoodthat other embodiments are not limited thereon. In other embodiments,the system 100 may include less or more number of WLAN APs and UEs.Further, the labels or names of the units are used only for illustrativepurpose and does not limit the scope of the present disclosure. One ormore units can be combined together to perform same or substantiallysimilar function to route the data packet to the UE 106 in the LTE-WLANaggregation.

FIG. 2 illustrates a layer level implementation of the LTE-WLANaggregation system 200 as shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, the LTE-WLAN aggregation system 200 includes theeNB 102, the WLAN AP 104, and the UE 106. The eNB 102 includes a PDCPadaption layer 108, an IP layer, a PDCP layer, a radio link control(RLC) layer, a MAC layer, and a physical (PHY) layer. The WLAN AP 104includes a WLAN logical link control (LLC) layer, a WLAN MAC layer, anda WLAN PHY layer. The UE 106 includes a PDCP adaption layer 110, and aWLAN entity.

In an embodiment, if the eNB 102 determines to route the data packetthrough the WLAN AP 104, a PDCP adaptation layer 108 in the eNB 102 isconfigured to receive the data packet from the PDCP layer.

After receiving the data packet from the PDCP layer, the PDCP adaptationlayer 108 is configured to add the header to the data packet. The headerincludes at least one of the bearer ID, the QoS and the RNTI to WLAN IDmapping information.

In an embodiment, the PDCP adaptation layer 108 is configured togenerate duplicates of the IP header received from the PDCP layer priorto add the header. In an embodiment, the IP header includes the sourceIP address and the destination IP address. The PDCP adaptation layer 108is configured to generate duplicates of only the source IP address andthe destination IP address.

In an embodiment, the PDCP adaptation layer 108 is configured to encryptthe data packet prior to generate duplicates of the source IP addressand the destination IP address. The PDCP adaptation layer 108 isconfigured to send the encrypted data packet to the WLAN AP 104.

After adding the header into the data packet, the PDCP adaptation layer108 is configured to send the data packet along with the header to theWLAN AP 104. Upon receiving the data packet along with the header fromthe eNB 102, the WLAN AP 104 is configured to identify the MAC addressof the UE 106 from the data packet. Further, the WLAN AP 104 isconfigured to generate the MAC header from the MAC address. Aftergenerating the MAC header, the WLAN AP 104 is configured to send thedata packet along with the MAC header to the UE 106.

FIG. 3A is a flow diagram illustrating a method 300 a for routing thedata packet to the UE 106 by the eNB 102 in the LTE-WLAN aggregationsystem 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the operations 302 a to 306 a are executed by thePDCP adaptation layer 108 of the eNB 102. Initially, the eNB 102determines to route the data packet through the WLAN AP 104. Atoperation 302 a, the method 300 a includes receiving the data packetfrom the PDCP layer of the eNB 102. At operation 304 a, the method 300 aincludes adding the header to the data packet. The header has the bearerID, the QoS and the RNTI to WLAN ID mapping information. At operation306 a, the method 300 a includes sending the data packet with the headerto the WLAN AP 104.

The various actions, acts, blocks, operations, or the like in the method300 a may be performed in the order presented, in a different order orsimultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some of the actions, acts,blocks, operations, or the like may be omitted, added, modified,skipped, or the like without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3B is a flow diagram illustrating a method 300 b for routing thedata packet to the UE 106 by the WLAN AP 104 in the LTE-WLAN aggregationsystem 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3B, the operations 302 b to 306 b are performed by theWLAN AP 104. At operation 302 b, the method 300 b includes identifyingthe MAC address of the UE 106 from the data packet. The data packet isreceived from the PDCP adaptation layer 108 of the eNB 102. At operation304 b, the method 300 b includes generating the MAC header from the MACaddress. At operation 306 b, the method 300 b includes sending the datapacket along with the MAC header to the UE 106.

The various actions, acts, blocks, operations, or the like in the method300 b may be performed in the order presented, in a different order orsimultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some of the actions, acts,blocks, operations, or the like may be omitted, added, modified,skipped, or the like without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 show a sequence diagram indicatingvarious operations and procedures involved in routing the data packet tothe UE 106 in the LTE-WLAN aggregation system 100 according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, the PDCP layer sends at operation 402 the PDCPpacket to the PDCP adaptation layer 108 without encryption and robustheader compression (ROHC). In an embodiment, the PDCP adaptation layer108 duplicates at operation 404 the IP header which is present in a PDCPpacket and appends the duplicated header before an adaptation header.The PDCP adaptation layer 108 adds at operation 406 the header to thePDCP packet received from the PDCP layer. The header includes the bearerID. Further, the PDCP adaptation layer 108 identifies the start of theIP header based on the size of a PDCP header. In an embodiment, the PDCPlayer sends the size of the PDCP header to the PDCP adaptation layer 108or the size can be pre-defined in advance. In an embodiment, if the PDCPheader is variable then the PDCP adaptation layer 108 parses the PDCPheader to identify the length field and accordingly computes the lengthof the PDCP header. Thus, the PDCP adaptation layer 108 computes thestart of the IP header where the start of the IP header is at an offsetwith respect to the start of PDCP packet it received such that theoffset is equal to the length of the PDCP header. The PDCP adaptationlayer 108 duplicates the IP header based on the start of the offset ofthe IP header and the length of IP header.

In an embodiment, the PDCP adaptation layer 108 adds IP header includingthe bearer ID to the IP packet. In an embodiment, the PDCP layerperforms packet routing on receiving the IP packets from the upper layer(i.e., IP layer). Further, the eNB 102 sends at operation 408 the datapacket to the WLAN AP 104.

After receiving the data packet from the eNB 102, the WLAN AP 104identifies at operation 410 the MAC address from the IP address.Further, the WLAN AP 104 generates at operation 412 the MAC header usingthe identified MAC address. Further, the WLAN AP 104 sends at operation414 the data packet along with the MAC header to the UE 106.

The PDCP adaptation layer 108 forwards the data packets to the WLAN AP104. The WLAN AP 104 generates the MAC address based on the IP header(which is the first header in the packet that it receives from the PDCPadaptation layer 108) and further adds the MAC header with the MACaddress in the MAC header. The WLAN AP 104 maintains a mapping of IPheader to the MAC address.

The UE 106 includes a WLAN entity which uncovers at operation 416 theMAC header using legacy WLAN MAC procedures and passes the data packetsto the PDCP adaptation layer 110. The PDCP adaptation layer 110 removesat operation 418 the duplicated IP header and parses the adaptationheader. Based on the bearer ID present in the adaptation header, theWLAN entity routes the data packet to the corresponding entity (forexample: PDCP layer of LTE) at the UE 106. The bearer ID corresponds tothe PDCP flow between the eNB 102 and the UE 106.

Referring to FIG. 5, the PDCP layer sends at operation 502 the PDCPpacket to the PDCP adaptation layer 108 without encryption and ROHC. ThePDCP adaptation layer 108 duplicates at operation 504 only the sourceaddress and the destination address included in the IP header. The PDCPadaptation layer 108 adds at operation 506 the header including thebearer ID. The PDCP adaptation layer 108 sends at operation 508 the datapacket along with the header to the WLAN AP 104. Once the WLAN AP 104receives the data packet along with the header from the eNB 102, theWLAN AP 104 identifies at operation 510 the MAC address from thedestination address included in the IP header and generates at operation512 the MAC header using the identified MAC Address. The WLAN AP 104sends at operation 514 the data packet along with the MAC header to theUE 106. The UE 106 receives the data packet along with the MAC header.The WLAN entity in the UE 106 uncovers at operation 516 the MAC headerand passes the data packet to the PDCP adaptation layer 110. The PDCPadaptation layer 110 included in the UE 106 removes at operation 518)the duplicate IP header and passes to the PDCP layer based on the bearerID.

Referring to FIG. 6, the PDCP layer sends at operation 602 the PDCPpacket to the PDCP adaptation layer 108 without encryption and ROHC. ThePDCP adaptation layer 108 duplicates at operation 604 only sourceaddress and the destination address included in the IP header.

In an embodiment, the PDCP adaptation layer 108 performs encryption asper the PDCP encryption functionality where the parameters required forencryption will be shared by the PDCP layer to the PDCP adaptation layer108. The PDCP adaptation layer 108 excludes the appended duplicate IPheader, the adaptation header and the PDCP header from the encryption.

In an embodiment, eNB 102 sends the UE ID and MAC address mapping to theWLAN AP 104 prior to sending the data packet. In an example, the UE IDis an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)/internationalmobile equipment identity (IMEI).

In an embodiment, the eNB 102 shares the UE ID and an association ID tothe WLAN AP 104 so that the WLAN AP 104 generates the mapping table.

Further, the PDCP adaptation layer 108 adds at operation 606 the headerincluding the bearer ID. The PDCP adaptation layer 108 sends atoperation 608 the data packet along with the header to the WLAN AP 104.After receiving the data packet along with the header by the WLAN AP104, the WLAN AP 104 identifies at operation 610 the MAC address fromthe destination address included in the IP header and generates atoperation 612 the MAC header using the identified MAC address. The WLANAP 104 sends at operation 614 the data packet along with the MAC headerto the UE 106. The WLAN entity in the UE 106 receives the data packetalong with the MAC header. The WLAN entity uncovers at operation 616 theMAC header and passes to the PDCP adaptation layer 110. The PDCPadaptation layer 110 removes at operation 618 the duplicate IP headerand pass to the PDCP layer based on the bearer ID.

Referring to FIG. 7, the PDCP layer performs packet routing on receivingthe IP packets from the upper layer (i.e., IP layer). The PDCP layerdetermines to route the data packet via the WLAN AP 104 then duplicatesat operation 702 IP header and appends the duplicated IP header beforethe PDCP header. Then it performs normal PDCP functionality like ROHCand encryption on a PDCP payload. The data packet includes theduplicated IP header, the PDCP header and the data packet is sent to thePDCP adaptation layer 108. The PDCP adaptation layer 108 adds atoperation 704 the adaptation header including the bearer ID in betweenthe duplicated IP header and the PDCP header.

The PDCP adaptation layer 108 forwards at operation 706 the data packetto the WLAN AP 104. After receiving the data packet from the PDCPadaptation layer 108, the WLAN AP 104 identifies at operation 708 theMAC address based on the IP header (which is the first header in thedata packet that it receives from the PDCP adaptation layer 108) andfurther generates at operation 710 the MAC header with the appropriateMAC addresses in the MAC header. The WLAN AP 104 maintains the mappingof the IP header to the MAC address. The WLAN AP 104 sends at operation712 the data packet to the UE 106. The receiving WLAN entity at the UE106 uncovers at operation 714 the MAC header using the legacy WLAN MACprocedures and then provides the data packets to the PDCP adaptationlayer 110. The PDCP adaptation layer 110 removes at operation 716 theduplicated IP header and parses the adaptation header and based on thebearer ID present in the adaptation header routes the data packet to theappropriate entity (for example: PDCP layer of LTE) at the UE 106. In anembodiment, the PDCP adaptation layer 110 parses and removes only theadaptation header and then sends the data packet to the PDCP layer. ThePDCP layer removes the duplicated IP header and then continues itsnormal PDCP functionality.

Referring to FIG. 8, if the PDCP layer determines to route the datapacket via the WLAN AP 104, the PDCP layer duplicates at operation 802the IP header including only the source address and the destinationaddress and then perform ROHC and encryption. In an embodiment, the PDCPlayer copies only the source and destination portions of the IP headerand appends before the PDCP header. The PDCP adaptation layer 108 addsthe header in between the duplicated IP header and the PDCP header. ThePDCP adaptation layer 108 needs to identify the length of the IP headerwhich can be pre-specified or informed to it by the PDCP layer.

In an embodiment, the PDCP adaptation layer 108 adds at operation 804the header including the bearer ID. Further, the adaptation layer sends(806) the data packet along with the header to the WLAN AP 104.

Once the WLAN AP 104 receives the data packet along with the header, theWLAN AP 104 identifies at operation 808 the MAC address from the IPaddress and generates at operation 810 the MAC header using theidentified MAC address. The WLAN AP 104 sends at operation 812 the datapacket along with the MAC header to the UE 106. The WLAN entity includedin the UE 106 uncovers at operation 814 the MAC header and passes to thePDCP adaptation layer 110. The PDCP adaptation layer 110 removes atoperation 816 the duplicate IP header and passes to the PDCP layer basedon the bearer ID.

Referring to FIG. 9, the PDCP layer performs the data packet routing onreceiving the IP packets from the upper layer (i.e., IP layer). The PDCPlayer sends at operation 902 the PDCP packet including the PDCP headerto the PDCP adaptation layer 108. The PDCP adaptation layer 108exchanges at operation 904 the IP header and the PDCP header location inthe data packet. Then the PDCP adaptation layer 108 adds at operation906 the adaptation header in between the IP header and the PDCP header.

Further, the PDCP adaptation layer 108 forwards at operation 908 thedata packet to the WLAN AP 104. After receiving data packet by the WLANAP 104, the WLAN AP 104 identifies at operation 910 the MAC addressbased on the IP header (which is in the first location of the datapacket) and further generates at operation 912 the MAC header with theMAC addresses in the MAC header. It maintains the mapping of IP headerto the MAC address. The WLAN AP 104 sends at operation 914 the datapacket to the UE 106. The receiving WLAN entity at the UE 106 uncoversat operation 916 the MAC header using the legacy WLAN MAC procedures andthen provides the data packet to the PDCP adaptation layer 110. The PDCPadaptation layer 110 removes at operation 918 exchanged position of theIP header and the PDCP header and uncovers the adaptation header andthen forwards the data packet to the PDCP layer at the UE 106.

Referring to FIG. 10, the PDCP sends at operation 1002 the PDCP packetto the PDCP adaptation layer 108 with encryption and ROHC from end ofthe IP header. Based on the receiving the PDCP packet, the PDCPadaptation layer 108 exchanges at operation 1004 the location of the IPheader and the PDCP header. Further, the PDCP adaptation layer 108 addsat operation 1006 the header including the bearer ID. The PDCPadaptation layer 108 sends at operation 1008 the data packet along withthe header to the WLAN AP 104.

After receiving the data packet along with the header by the WLAN AP104, the WLAN AP 104 identifies at operation 1010 the MAC address fromthe IP address and generates at operation 1012 the MAC header using theidentified MAC address. Further, the WLAN AP sends at operation 1014 thedata packet along with the MAC header to the UE 106. The WLAN entityuncovers at operation 1016 the MAC header and passes to the PDCPadaptation layer 110. The PDCP adaptation layer 110 exchanges atoperation 1018 the location of IP header and the PDCP header.

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram indicating various operations andprocedures involved in establishing communication between the eNB 102and the WLAN AP 104 using a UE specific tunnel identified (TEID)according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11, the eNB 102 sends at operation 1102 a request toestablish a general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP)tunnel with the WLAN AP 104. The tunnel ID is exchanged at operation1104 between the eNB 102 and the WLAN AP 104. The PDCP adaptation layer108 adds at operation 1106 the bearer ID and the UE ID. The PDCPadaptation layer 108 sends at operation 1108 the data packet with theheader to the WLAN AP 104. Once the WLAN AP 104 receives the data packetalong with the header, the WLAN AP 104 identifies at operation 1110 theMAC address from the UEID included in the adaptation header andgenerates at operation 1112 the MAC header from the identified MACaddress. The WLAN AP sends at operation 1114 the data packet along withthe MAC header to the UE 106.

In an embodiment, once the eNB 102 determines to route partial datapackets or full data packets to the UE 106 over the associated WLAN AP104, the eNB 102 establishes the GTP tunnel with the WLAN AP 104 wherethe TEID has one to one mapping with a UE identifier.

For example, the UE ID can be a temporary mobile station identifier(TMSI), the IMSI, the IP address assigned to the UE 106, association IDof the UE 106 with the WLAN AP 104 or any other UE identity that is usedin a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) network.

In an embodiment, the WLAN AP 104 maintains the mapping table of the UEID and the MAC address which helps the WLAN AP 104 to identifycorresponding UE when a data packet is received from the eNB 102.

In an embodiment, the UE 106 shares the MAC address to the eNB 102 andthe eNB 102 shares with the WLAN AP 104 while establishing the tunnel.

In an embodiment, the TEID is mapped to the MAC address of the UE 106.The WLAN AP 104 on the receiving data packets from the eNB 102identifies the UE 106 (among plurality of UEs) to which the data packetsbe routed.

In an embodiment, the TEID can be mapped to other UE identities which inturn are mapped to the MAC address.

In an embodiment, the UE 106 shares the association ID with the eNB 102after associating with the WLAN AP 104. The TEID can be mapped toassociation ID which the WLAN AP 104 initially generates a mapping tableof association ID to MAC address of UEs.

In an embodiment, the TEID is mapped directly or indirectly to the MACaddress, the PDCP adaptation header includes the bearer ID which helpsthe WLAN entity to sends the data packets to the PDCP adaptation layer110.

The eNB 102 establishes the tunnel with the associated WLAN APs 104where the tunnel is identified by the TEID which is not mapped to the UEID. The data packets for all the UEs which have to be routed via theassociated WLAN AP 104 will be sent to the WLAN AP 104 on the singletunnel.

In an embodiment, the adaptation header includes the UE ID which helpsthe WLAN AP 104 to identify the UE 106 and accordingly identify thecorresponding MAC address of the UE 106.

In an embodiment, the adaptation header includes the MAC address of theUE 106 based on which the WLAN AP 104 generates the MAC header. In thisscenario, the MAC address is reported by the UE 106 to the eNB 102. Inan embodiment, the adaptation header includes any other UE IDs which isthen mapped by the WLAN AP 104 to the corresponding MAC address. In anembodiment, the eNB 102 informs MAC address and the UE ID that is to beused in the adaptation header to the WLAN AP 104 before the eNB 102sends the data packets to the WLAN AP 104.

In an embodiment, the eNB 102 identifies the WLAN AP 104 based on IPaddresses of the WLAN AP 104 which are assigned by a LTE network.

In an embodiment, the WLAN AP 104 associates with the eNB 102 based onthe IP address of the eNB 102.

In an embodiment, the eNB 102 identifies the WLAN AP 104 through the UE106.

In an embodiment, the eNB 102 configures the UE 106 to report the resultof scanning when both the eNB 102 and the WLAN AP 104 are in thevicinity to the UE 106.

Based on reports from the multiple UEs, the eNB 102 can build a list ofWLAN APs which it can associate with for the LTE Wi-Fi aggregation.

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram various operations and procedures involvedin establishing communication between the eNB 102 and the WLAN AP 104using the UE and flow specific TEID according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, in an embodiment, the eNB 102 sends at operation1202 the request to establish the GTP tunnel with the WLAN AP 104. Therequest includes the UE identifier (e.g., MAC address) and the bearerID. The TEID provides at operation 1204 one to one mapping with the UEID. The WLAN AP 104 generates at operation 1206 the mapping table ofTEID to the MAC address. The PDCP adaptation layer 108 adds at operation1208 the bearer ID. The PDCP adaptation layer 108 sends at operation1210 the data packet along with the header to the WLAN AP 104.

In an embodiment, the WLAN AP 104 applies the QoS if the header fromPDCP adaptation layer 108 includes the QoS.

Further, the WLAN AP 104 identifies at operation 1212 the MAC addressfrom the TEID. The WLAN AP 104 generates at operation 1214 the MACheader from identified MAC address and sends at operation 1216 the datapacket along with the MAC header to the UE 106.

The eNB 102 establishes the GTP tunnel with the WLAN AP 104 where themapping of TEID and the UE ID along with the bearer ID.

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram indicating various operations andprocedures involved for indicating the UE preference indication (i.e.,one time indication to the eNB 102) according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 13, the UE preference indication can be provided basedon an operator AP or a private AP. In an embodiment, the UE 106 checksat operation 1302 the support of LTE WLAN aggregation in the capabilityindication. The UE 106 sends at operation 1304 the capability indicationto the eNB 102. In an embodiment, the UE 106 checks at operation 1306the indication whether aggregation feature is enabled or disabled by theuser. The UE 106 sends at operation 1308 the aggregation enableinformation/aggregation disable information to the eNB 102. In anembodiment, the UE 106 checks at operation 1310 the preferenceindication for the operator AP or the private AP. The UE 106 sends atoperation 1312 preference indication to the eNB 102. Based on theindication information, the eNB 102 determines at operation 1314 to usethe aggregation. The eNB 102 determines at operation 1316 whether the UE102 prefers the operator AP. If the UE 102 prefers the operator AP thenthe eNB 102 determines at operation 1318 to use the aggregation andsends the command based on the aggregation. If the UE 106 does notprefer the operator AP then, the eNB 102 does not send at operation 1320the aggregation command.

If UE preference is Operator AP:

a) the eNB 102 sends WLAN aggregation add command (Scell Addition)

b) the UE 106 performs association with indicated operator AP if the UE106 not using the Wi-Fi (for the private WLAN AP)

c) the UE 106 performs disassociation with the current private AP andperforms association with the indicated operator AP, if the UE 106 usesthe Wi-Fi (for the private WLAN AP)

If UE preference is Private:

Procedure A:

1) If the Wi-Fi in use (for the private AP) then the eNB 102 does notsend the aggregation command

2) If Wi-Fi not in use (for the private AP) then the eNB 102 sends theaggregation command

a) the eNB 102 detects the Wi-Fi usage based on “Wi-Fi StatusIndication” which is sent by the UE 106 before the eNB 102 sends theaggregation command

Procedure B:

The eNB sends aggregation command irrespective of the Wi-Fi status:

-   -   The UE 106 displays the command to the user via the UI    -   If the user agrees to perform the Wi-Fi aggregation then the UE        106 performs association with the indicated operator AP    -   If the Wi-Fi is in use then the UE 106 first performs        dis-association

Procedure C:

-   -   If the Wi-Fi is in use then the eNB 102 sends the “Interest        Indication”    -   The UE indicates the Wi-Fi Status to the eNB 102 after the UE        106 dis-associates with the AP    -   This may happen at a later time    -   This may also be a time limited behavior    -   UE sends the status if the Wi-Fi status becomes “not in use”        within a configured time    -   This option can also be covered by the “Wi-Fi Status Indication”        if these indications are sent every time Wi-Fi status changes        (not only on the eNB request)    -   Alternatively, the eNB 102 can send the aggregation command        again after some time

If UE preference is selected list of Private APs

a) If the Wi-Fi is in use with one of the APs in the list of“Prioritized Preferred Private APs then the eNB 102 does not sends theaggregation command

(i) the eNB 102 detects the list of prioritized preferred APs

FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram indicating various operations andprocedures involved for the UE preference configuration but notindicated to the eNB 102 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 14, in an embodiment, the UE 106 checks at operation1402 the support of LTE Wi-Fi aggregation in the capability indication.The UE 106 sends at operation 1404 the capability indication to the eNB102. In an embodiment, the UE 106 checks at operation 1406 theindication whether aggregation feature is enabled or disabled. The UE106 sends at operation 1408 the aggregation enable information or theaggregation disable information) to the eNB 102. In an embodiment, theUE 106 sends at operation 1410 the preference indication configured butnot indicated to the eNB 102. The eNB 102 determines at operation 1412to use the aggregation. The eNB 102 sends at operation 1414 theaggregation command to the UE 106. The UE 102 itself determines atoperation 1416 prefer operator AP. If the UE prefers the operator APthen, the UE 106 associates at operation 1418 with the indicated AP. Ifthe UE does not prefer the operator AP then, the UE does not associateat operation 1420 with the indicated AP.

-   -   UE preference is configured based on the user selection via the        UI

It is not indicated to the eNB 102

-   -   If the eNB 102 determines to configure the aggregation AP then        it sends the aggregation command

The UE 106 performs action based on the user configured UE preferencefor accepting or rejecting the command

In an embodiment, the UE 106 can configure its preference of the privateAPs or the operator aggregation APs based on the user input. The UE 106can indicate this preference to the eNB 102 in advance and the eNB 102can accordingly determines to configure the aggregation AP. The eNB 102can determine whether the Wi-Fi is in use or not at the UE 106. The UE106 can send this Wi-Fi status indication based on the request from theeNB 102 before the eNB 102 commands the UE 106 to configure the AP foraggregation. In an example, if the UE 106 has indicated its preferenceof operator aggregation APs then the eNB 102 can configure theaggregation AP without worrying about the Wi-Fi status at the UE 106.The UE 106 will have to disassociate with it and associate with theindicated operator AP for the aggregation, if the UE 106 is connected tothe private AP.

In an embodiment, the UE 106 does not configure its preference of theprivate APs or operator aggregation APs but when the eNB 102 sends thecommand to aggregate indicated operator AP, then the UE 106 prompts theuser to accept or reject the aggregation through the user interface. TheUE 106 acts according to the user selection for accepting or rejectingthe aggregation.

The below table shows the UE preference indication.

TABLE 1 User preference eNB sends aggregation If Private AP > operatorconfigured and command based on user AP AND Wi-Fi Status is indicated toeNB preference and Wi-Fi in use then do not send 102 Status at UE 106Aggregation Command If Op AP > Private AP then send Aggregation Commandirrespective of Wi-Fi Status User Preference eNB sends AggregationConfigured but Command without NOT Indicated considering user to eNBpreference or Wi-Fi Status at UE UE acts based on If Private AP > Op APConfigured User then reject the command Preference If Op AP > Private APthen accept the command User Preference eNB sends Aggregation NOTConfigured Command without in advance considering user preference orWi-Fi Status at UE UE prompts user for accepting/rejecting theaggregation UE acts based on user If user agrees then accept input elsereject the command

FIG. 15 is a schematic of data packet format in which a WLAN APdistinguishes the upper layer according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 15, a new value of protocol ID field in a subnetworkaccess protocol (SNAP) extension header can be used to identify that thedata packet is from the LTE. A reserved value of protocol ID can be usedto identify the data packets from the LTE network. In an embodiment, thePDCP forms the data packet and sends to the PDCP adaptation layer 108,if the PDCP determines to route the data packet via the WLAN AP 104. ThePDCP adaptation layer 108 generates the LLC/SNAP header with appropriatefields and sends the data packet to the AP. The AP on receiving the datapacket can identify based on the SNAP header that the data packet isfrom the LTE and processes it accordingly in which, the WLAN AP 104generates the MAC header based on the tunnel ID generated or based onthe adaptation header if the MAC address or association ID is includedin the adaptation header.

In an embodiment, the encryption in the LTE network is not performed forthe data packets which are to be routed via the WLAN. The eNB 102 canconfigure the WLAN to always perform encryption. The eNB 102 can alsoconfigure the encryption scheme to use among the ones available at theWLAN AP 104.

When the eNB 102 establishes the tunnel with the WLAN AP 104 for routingthe packets to the UE 106, where the TEID is one to one mapped to the UEID, the eNB 102 also indicates the access category of the packets. In anembodiment, the eNB 102 can also indicate the parameters of theindicated access category for example, if video traffic is routed viathe WLAN AP 104, then the eNB 102 can indicate a CW value which the WLANAP 104 should follow for the data. In addition, the PDCP adaptationlayer 108 can form the traffic ID (TID) to select a user priority (UP)for prioritized QoS or a traffic specification (TSPEC) for theparameterized QoS. In an embodiment, the adaptation header includes theQoS access class so that the WLAN AP 104 can process the data packetbased on the QoS. In an embodiment, the adaptation header includes thebearer ID and the WLAN AP 104 maps to the access class based on thetunnel establishment.

In an embodiment, when the eNB 102 establishes the tunnel with the WLANAP 104 for routing the packets to the UE 106 where the TEID is one toone mapped to the UE ID and the bearer ID, the eNB 102 also indicatesthe access category of the packets. The eNB 102 can also indicate theparameters of the indicated access category for example, if the videotraffic is routed via the WLAN AP 104, then the eNB 102 can indicate theCW value which the AP should follow for the data.

Based on the QoS mapping from the 3GPP service or QCI to 15 802.11 QoS,the eNB 102 can instruct the UE 106 to send an add traffic stream(ADDTS) request frame to the WLAN AP 104. The eNB 102 can provide the UE106 with the set of parameters necessary to identify various kinds ofPDU or incoming MAC service data unit (MSDU) that belong to theparticular TS in a TCLAS element. In addition, the WLAN AP 104 forms theTSPEC element which includes parameters like service start time, minimumdata rate, mean data rate and peak data rate or the like. The WLAN AP104 responds with the ADDTS response frame based on the availableresources.

In an embodiment, the eNB 102 can instruct the WLAN AP 104 to includethe upper layer protocol identification (U-PID) to indicate to the UE106 that the data packet is from the PDCP.

FIG. 16 illustrates a computing environment 1602 implementing amechanism for routing the data packet to the UE 106 in the LTE-WLANaggregation system 100 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 16, the computing environment 1602 comprises at leastone processing unit 1608 (e.g. processor) that is equipped with acontrol unit 1604, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) 1606, a memory 1610, astorage unit 1612, a plurality of networking devices 1616 and aplurality input output (I/O) devices 1614. The processing unit 1608 isresponsible for processing the instructions of the technique. Theprocessing unit 1608 receives commands from the control unit 1604 inorder to perform its processing. Further, any logical and arithmeticoperations involved in the execution of the instructions are computedwith the help of the ALU 1606.

The overall computing environment 1602 can be composed of multiplehomogeneous or heterogeneous cores, multiple CPUs of different kinds,special media and other accelerators. The processing unit 1608 isresponsible for processing the instructions of the technique. Further,the plurality of processing units 1604 may be located on a single chipor over multiple chips.

The technique comprising of instructions and codes required for theimplementation are stored in either the memory unit 1610 or the storage1612 or both. At the time of execution, the instructions may be fetchedfrom the corresponding memory 1610 or storage 1612, and executed by theprocessing unit 1608.

In case of any hardware implementations various networking devices 1616or external I/O devices 1614 may be connected to the computingenvironment 1602 to support the implementation through the networkingunit and the I/O device unit. Further, a communication unit (not shown)is configured for communicating internally between internal units andwith external devices via one or more networks.

The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least onesoftware program running on at least one hardware device and performingnetwork management functions to control the elements. The elements shownin FIGS. 1, 2, 3A, 3B, and 4 to 16 include blocks, elements, actions,acts, operations, or the like which can be at least one of a hardwaredevice, or a combination of hardware device and software module.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fullyreveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, byapplying current knowledge, readily modify and or adapt for variousapplications such specific embodiments without departing from thegeneric concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modificationsshould and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and rangeof equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood thatthe phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose ofdescription and not of limitation.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure asdefined by the appended claims their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: transmitting, to a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including capability information indicating whether a long term evolution-wireless local area network (LTE-WLAN) aggregation is supported by the UE; and receiving data to which a header is added based on the LTE-WLAN aggregation, wherein the data is delivered to an upper layer in the UE, and wherein the upper layer is identified based on a bearer identification in the header, in case that the LTE-WLAN aggregation is supported by the UE and the LTE-WLAN aggregation is enabled in the UE.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises: receiving the data from the base station via a WLAN access point (AP).
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the upper layer is a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the base station is configured to establish a tunnel with the WLAN AP based on at least one of an internet protocol (IP) address of the UE or a medium access control (MAC) address of the UE, and wherein a tunnel identifier (ID) is exchanged between the base station and the WLAN AP.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the header comprises at least one of quality of service (QoS) or information for mapping a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) to a WLAN ID.
 6. A user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the UE comprising: a transceiver; and at least one processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to: transmit, to a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including capability information indicating whether a long term evolution-wireless local area network (LTE-WLAN) aggregation is supported by the UE, and receive data to which a header is added based on the LTE-WLAN aggregation, wherein the data is delivered to an upper layer in the UE, and wherein the upper layer is identified based on a bearer identification in the header, in case that the LTE-WLAN aggregation is supported by the UE and the LTE-WLAN aggregation is enabled in the UE.
 7. The UE of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive the data from the base station via a WLAN access point (AP).
 8. The UE of claim 6, wherein the upper layer is a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer.
 9. The UE of claim 7, wherein the base station is configured to establish a tunnel with the WLAN AP based on at least one of an internet protocol (IP) address of the UE or a medium access control (MAC) address of the UE, and wherein a tunnel identifier (ID) is exchanged between the base station and the WLAN AP.
 10. The UE of claim 6, wherein the header comprises at least one of quality of service (QoS) or information for mapping a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) to a WLAN ID.
 11. A method of a base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a radio resource control (RRC) message including capability information indicating whether a long term evolution-wireless local area network (LTE-WLAN) aggregation is supported by the UE; generating data to which a header is added; and transmitting the data to the UE based on the LTE-WLAN aggregation, wherein the data is delivered to an upper layer in the UE, and wherein the upper layer is identified based on a bearer identification in the header, in case that the LTE-WLAN aggregation is supported by the UE and the LTE-WLAN aggregation is enabled in the UE.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the transmitting of the data packet comprises: transmitting the data to the UE via a WLAN access point (AP).
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the upper layer is a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the header comprises at least one of quality of service (QoS) or information for mapping a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) to WLAN identifier (ID).
 15. A base station in a wireless communication system, the base station comprising: a transceiver; and at least one processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to: receive, from a user equipment (UE), a radio resource control (RRC) message including capability information indicating whether a long term evolution-wireless local area network (LTE-WLAN) aggregation is supported by the UE, generate data to which a header is added, and transmit the data to the UE based on the LTE-WLAN aggregation, wherein the data is delivered to an upper layer in the UE, and wherein the upper layer is identified based on a bearer identification in the header, in case that the LTE-WLAN aggregation is supported by the UE and the LTE-WLAN aggregation is enabled in the UE.
 16. The base station of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is configured to transmit the data to the UE via a WLAN access point (AP).
 17. The base station of claim 15, wherein the upper layer is a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer.
 18. The base station of claim 15, wherein the header comprises at least one of quality of service (QoS) or information for mapping a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) to WLAN identifier (ID). 